Surgeons perform life saving surgery, the first of its kind in the Valley

MENIFEE – Dr. Allen Chan and Dr. Frank Torres, both vascular surgeons at Menifee Valley Medical Center located in Menifee, recently performed a life saving surgery for a patient who came to the hospital’s emergency room with complaints of abdominal and back pain.

A CAT scan performed in the emergency room showed the patient had a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), requiring immediate surgery.

The chances of surviving a ruptured AAA are only 20 percent, even if you make it to the hospital in time. Dr. Chan and Dr. Torres’ quick decision to complete an endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) instead of the traditional surgery may have quite possibly been the deciding factor in life or death.

Surgery options for an AAA include traditional open surgery, or endovascular repair. Open surgery involves replacing the aorta with a tube of artificial material through an incision in the abdomen. EVAR involves the placement of a stent-supported graft through the groin.

Dr. Chan and Dr. Torres have been performing vascular surgeries for over 10 and five years respectfully, completing numerous open and endovascular repair surgeries. However, this is the first time either of the surgeons had made the decision to complete an emergency surgery on an already ruptured aneurysm as an endovascular repair.

EVAR’s are normally completed when an aneurysm has not yet ruptured, while the most common surgery for a ruptured aneurysm is an open surgery due to the fact that once the aneurysm has ruptured it is a high-risk emergency surgery. Dr. Chan and Dr. Torres made the quick decision to complete an EVAR on the ruptured aneurysm, using four endurant stents manufactured by Medtronic’s.

Dr. Chan stated the “one-hour surgery, performed at Menifee Valley Medical Center in March, is the first time stents have been used on an already ruptured aneurysm, making it the first time in the Temecula Valley this has been completed.”

Dr. Chan stated he “was impressed with the hospital’s operating staff performance in assisting me in performing the AAA.” Gregory Padilla, Administrator, commented that “the vascular program at Menifee Valley Medical Center is just one of the many new services and improvements that Physicians for Healthy Hospitals Inc, parent corporation, has made at Menifee Valley Medical Center in the last two years.”